Karith Foster

Karith Foster is a professional speaker, author and diversity engagement specialist who for nearly two decades has taken her passion for entertaining and critical thinking nationwide: from the airwaves to organizations, from universities to corporations. She’s creating a seismic shift in mindsets and revolutionizing the way we address issues of diversity, leadership and self-care.

A former journalist and television producer, Karith gained notoriety when she became co-host of controversial radio personality Don Imus after his “Rutgers incident.” Karith is also former Fortune 500 human resources executive administrator who with her background of over 20 years in stand-up comedy brings the perfect blend of humor, knowledge and experience when conveying the ever-present need to address diversity, inclusion and effective communication.

Karith has presented at the United Nations and to executives of the Chamber of Commerce C100 as well as at Harvard, Stanford and colleges and universities across America. She leaves her audiences feeling engaged, connected, inspired and encouraged to commit to the journey of mutual respect, acceptance and a greater sense of belonging.

She kicked off 2020 as a visiting expert for the Knight-Hennessy Scholars program at Stanford University where she is a 7-time repeat guest lecturer for the Graduate School of Business course “Reputation Management.” In June of 2020 her book, “You Can Be Perfect or You Can Be Happy” debuted at #14 in the Personal Transformation category on Amazon’s Best Seller List.

“If you can laugh at it you can get through it,” is not only her motto, but the invaluable lesson she seeks to instill in others. As a speaker, humorist, TV & radio personality, author, social entrepreneur, wife, and mother Karith’s sense of duty, service, along with her riotous sense of humor, have made her a positive force of change. The words“no” and “impossible” are not in her vocabulary as evidenced by her career path, life challenges, chosen adventures and desire to help others.

Karith holds her Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications Broadcast Journalism from Stephens College and as recently as spring 2020 received her certificate in Fostering Inclusion and Diversity from the Yale School of Management.

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I am the coordinator that worked with our students to bring Karith to campus. Working with Karith was a dream. She is so easy to work and communicate with. Her professionalism and demeanor was great. She was so calm and collected during the process of getting her to campus, going through our tech check the day of and her meeting with the small group of students at lunch before the program was a great success. The presentation was timely on our campus. Her presentation skills and ability to relate to the audience she is performing to are totally professional. My take away was that we need more dialogue on the subject of stereotyping, especially to the students of today. Our campus has a great Diversity and Inclusion Effort as part of its mission and I have engaged in it. I hope to keep the conversation going and improve and enlarge its scope.

– Todd Olsen, UVUSA Senate Coordinator, UTAH VALLEY UNIVERSITY

The South Dakota Safety Council recently invited Karith to be a keynote speaker at our 26th Annual Safety & Health Conference in Sioux Falls on October 3, 2018. Our attendee feedback strongly showed they truly enjoyed and appreciated hearing from Karith on her Stereotyped 101 presentation. Diversity, inclusion, harassment and other tough topics are never a comfortable discussion to have, and oftentimes difficult to understand, in the workplace and beyond. But Karith put it into perspective and showed how individuals can have healthy discussions and be understanding of others without it being a confrontational or uncomfortable situation. Karith’s use of humor was a great way for attendees to learn about and develop strategies to deal with these topics. I am already on the lookout for other opportunities to bring Karith back as a speaker for our organization. I would highly recommend Karith for your next conference, meeting or event.

– Janie Ritter, Executive Director, South Dakota Safety Council

Without hesitation I recommend Karith Foster to other colleges and universities looking for an innovative and effective way to launch the touchy conversations of stereotype. Her approach would work effectively for undergrads as well as graduate students. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about her work here at Stanford.

– JD Schramm, Ed.D., Stanford University

We invited Karith for our Diversity Coalition’s Kick-Off Week. We chose [Stereotyped 101] to help introduce the coalition to campus because of its unique approach of using humor to foster dialogue on respect and equality for human differences. Her program was not only entertaining but educational. It was thought provoking and challenged participants to evaluate their behaviors and beliefs about difference. The material was well-received by students, faculty and staff alike.”

– Yvonne Chamberlain, Director of Leadership and Diversity, Stephens College

Feedback from our audience, women ranging from college interns to heads of corporations, has been overwhelmingly positive. Your style, wit, intelligence, and charm was exactly what the doctor ordered.

– Katerina Gkionis, Student Affairs Committee Member, New York Women in Communications Foundation

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